What bis with this CE nonsense? It is Anno Domini, the year of our
Lord..............If you have a Lord. CE is for Lost sinners, not
saved ones.
Terry
Dave wrote:
There is no doubt that the cross was extremely important and
emphasized by the primitive Christians, much more so than by most Christians
today.
DAVEH: I've found a few comments that suggest some early Christians
were less than enamored by the cross........
The use of the cross as a symbol was condemned by at least one
church father of the 3rd century CE because of its Pagan origins. The
first appearance of a cross in Christian art is on a Vatican
sarcophagus from the mid-5th Century. 11 It was a Greek cross with
equal-length arms. Jesus' body was not shown. The first crucifixion
scenes didn't appear in Christian art until the 7th century CE. The
original cross symbol was in the form of a Tau Cross. It was so named
because it looked like the letter "tau", or our letter "T". One author
speculates that the Church may have copied the symbol from the Pagan
Druids who made crosses in this form to represent the Thau (god). 7
They joined two limbs from oak trees. The Tau cross became associated
with St. Philip who was allegedly crucified on such a cross in Phrygia.
May Day, a major Druidic seasonal day of celebration, became St.
Philip's Day. Later in Christian history, the Tau Cross became the
Roman Cross that we are familiar with today.
******
According to author Graydon F. Snyder:
"[Today's]....universal use of the sign of the cross makes more
poignant the striking lack of crosses in early Christian remains,
especially any specific reference to the event on Golgotha. Most
scholars now agree that the cross as an artistic reference to the
passion event cannot be found prior to the time of Constantine."
......The previous two comments are found at
<http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_symb.htm>
And Christian Symbols: Ancient and Modern by Child
& Colles claims......
In the first three centuries A.D. the cross was not openly used as
a
Christian symbol, for the early believers looked beyond the Crucifixion
to the Resurrection, and the emphasis was not on the cross of suffering
and humiliation but on the Promise of Life with Christ here in the
world and hereafter in the life beyond the grave.
.......which seems to contrast what you are claiming.
David Miller wrote:
DAVEH:
Do you believe the Primitive Christians had
that apprehension?
Yes, absolutely. Just look at how much the New Testament writes about the
cross. The earliest of the church fathers also wrote about the cross.
Ignatius of the first century magnified the cross even more than Paul did.
Polycarp, born in the first century and martyred in the middle of the second
century, was a disciple of John. He said in one of his epistles that
whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross is of the devil.
Justin Martyr of the early second century also wrote extensively on the
cross. There is no doubt that the cross was extremely important and
emphasized by the primitive Christians, much more so than by most Christians
today.
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Hansen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.langlitz.com
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- Re: [TruthTalk] The cross of Christ Terry Clifton
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